Carnifex (Latin for Executioner) are a San Diego based Death Metal/Deathcore band formed in 2005 and they have just been signed to Nuclear Blast to release their 5th album “Die Without Hope”
Now before I get into the review I just want to point out that while they are a Deathcore band that doesn’t mean you should disregard them completely. There is too much of a divide put on the metal genres and I think it in most cases hurts more than it helps. Labelling can be quite pointless as good music is good music.
The album kicks off with some brutal sounds which I’m pretty sure is a power tool of some kind before kicking into the opening of “Salvation is dead” which sets the tone for the whole album.
Its hard and unrelenting and it just comes through with brutal death metal riffs and drumming that is occasionally broken up by the odd breakdowns and samples which I feel tends to sort of take away from the songs.
You can tell the band is trying so hard to break away from the confines of being just another Deathcore band and were trying really hard to make a straight up brutal death metal album but they seem to be unable to make any songs without breakdowns.
Also in some tracks the use of samples become extremely overbearing. There’s a lot of mechanical noises and the beginning and endings of songs which is fine but one that’s really odd is the inclusion of the piano in the breakdown during “Condemned to Decay” which really doesn’t fit and it ruins and otherwise great song
The real stand out tracks on the album are the lead single “Dragged Into The Grave”, The Intro Tack “Salvation is Dead” and the crushing “Die Without Hope”
The album is a pretty good attempt by the band to make the jump from Deathcore to straight up brutal Death Metal but there are a few little things here and there that prevent the album from being as solid from start to finish as it should be. The band clearly have all the talent in the world and are completely musically sound in all regards its just those few little things with the samples and such that prevent it from being perfect to me.
Still its a great album and definitely worth a listen. I think with a few more albums under their belt these guys could really be a headlining metal act
“Die Without Hope” is out now
